A new undercarriage system developed by assignee of this application utilizes a cable reinforced rubber track. The track is used on the vehicle in one continuous loop. It is trained around a set of dual wheels near each end of the vehicle and includes an integral guide which runs between the dual wheels. To remove the track, the outer wheel of each dual set is removed.
Prior to the present invention, the track was then pulled off the remaining wheels by another vehicle and when the track cleared the wheels it would collapse on the ground. Since the track weighs approximately 450 kg, it is very difficult to handle in this condition. To replace the track it was placed alongside the wheels and one end of the loop of the track was raised by another vehicle while the track was forced over the inside wheel of one set of the duals. The opposite end was likewise raised and pried over the other inside wheel of the duals at the other end of the vehicle. These procedures were quite time consuming and required considerable manual labor. Also, one had to be careful that the prying and lifting did not damage the track.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.